‘JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU’
The Second Sunday of Easter in the Catholic calendar is called since April 30, 2000, the “Divine Mercy Sunday”. On that day, on St. Peter Square in the Vatican, Pope St. John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), an uneducated Polish nun who had received a special message of God’s Mercy during multiple apparitions of Jesus to her at the beginning of the 20th century. Obedient to her spiritual director, Blessed Fr. Michael Sopocko, she wrote down the content of her visions in the “Diary,” which for many today remains a mystical textbook of the Divine Mercy devotion. Speaking of Sr. Faustina and the importance of the message contained in her “Diary,” St. John Paul II called her “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.” St. Faustina Kowalska gave to the Church notable forms of this Divine Mercy devotion: the Chaplet, the Novena, the Hour of Mercy and the Painting of Merciful Jesus with the inscription: “Jesus, I trust in you!”
The idea and devotion of Divine Mercy is not new in the Catholic Tradition, of course. The Bible frequently speaks of God’s mercy and love that is greater than people’s sins. Many Old Testament figures, like Abraham, Moses or David invoked mercy of God. Psalms are prayers that praise Divine mercy, like today’s Psalm 118: Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” / Let those who fear the Lord say, “His mercy endures forever.” Jesus in his multiple parables spoke of the Father’s mercy, like in the parable of the prodigal son, of the lost sheep or of good Samaritan, to name a few. His very Passion, Death and Resurrection is one great act of his Mercy. The fruit of this mercy is the gift of the paschal sacrament of reconciliation given to the Church, as we hear in today’s Gospel: The risen Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:22-23).
The Church, through administering the sacraments and through her teachings brings the depths of God’s mercy to the faithful. One of the most notable documents of the Church on the theme of Divine Mercy is the encyclical Dives in misericordia (Rich in mercy, 11/30/1980) by St. John Paul II.
In the USA, religious congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (MIC) has played the key role in spreading the Divine Mercy message and devotion. They are custodians of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The official website of the shrine is www.shrineofdivinemercy.org and it is a great source of information and first-hand aid for planning a pilgrimage to that beautiful holy site, located on the “Grounds of Eden Hill” in western Massachusetts. Another important website with great resources on Divine Mercy is www.thedivinemercy.org. In addition to many prayers, texts, videos, announcements on many events that are organized throughout the year, and the basics on the Divine Mercy, such as the “ABC”:
“The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC:
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that all the graces of His mercy can only be received by our trust. The more we open the door of our hearts and lives to Him with trust, the more we can receive.” (thedivinemercy.org)
~Fr. Cyprian Czop OMI